3/29/2014

Hardy Rosemary - Arp

Arp and Hill Hardy rosemary

I've long wondered how 'Arp' rosemary got its name, and I admit I always
thought it an odd choice for a plant name. While visiting Festival Hill
a couple of years ago, I was pleased to share breakfast with Gwen
Barclay and Henry Flowers. Gwen, as many of you may remember, is the
daughter of the late Madalene Hill (whose incredible rosemary collection resides at Festival Hill).
Henry Flowers it the horticulturalist and over-all plant genius at
Festival Hill and began his work under Madalene's supervision. (If you
want to know more, you can read the tribute I wrote about Madalene on my
earlier blog, here.

Henry Flowers, Horticulturist at Festival Hill

Gwen Barclay, chef, musician and herbalist.

Gwen made a reference to Arp rosemary, how there were a lot of the
plants sold during the plant sale that weekend and that the Herb Society
of America was intending to plant a commemorative plaque in Arp.

"You mean Arp is a place?" I asked.

So I got the whole story, directly from Gwen and Henry.

Gwen and her
mother have cousins in Arp, Texas, southeast of Tyler. One Christmas
they were visiting their cousins and Madalene noticed a very robust
rosemary, in full bloom, in front of an abandoned house nearby. It was
unusual for a rosemary to be covered with blue-lavender flowers at
Christmas time. Madalene inquired of her cousins and the neighbors if
anyone knew who owned the old, neglected (and empty) house. No one knew
anything about the owner.

Madalene borrowed a knife and made several cuttings from the very
prolific rosemary and took them home with her to root. Over the next few
years she shared the cuttings with several people, including the late
Tom DeBaggio. He began propagating the now named, 'Arp' rosemary for his
retail nursery. (You can read more about Tom and his amazing story of dealing with Alzheimer's disease on his nursery website here; you will also find lots of stories about him on National Public Radio, the Washington Post, etc. if you Google his name).

Hill Hardy rosemary

One day Tom noticed that one rosemary stood out as different from among
the dozens of trays of Arp rosemary cuttings and he separated it out and
grew it on, propagating more. That rosemary was more gray and
fine-leafed than the Arp rosemary which appeared to be its parent. Over
time Tom discovered the grayer rosemary to be equally or even more hardy
than the original Arp, and he dubbed it, 'Hill's Hardy' rosemary, in
honor of Madalene Hill who had first brought it to him.

Thanks to my Garmin navigator, Arp wasn't difficult to find.

Since I had Arp rosemary with me, and now knew the real story of the
origins of both these exceptional rosemaries, and since I was already
heading toward Tyler, TX from Round Top/Festival Hill, I decided I
should definitely drive to Arp, TX and see where this amazing rosemary
came from.

(Madalene had found, in later years, the name of owner of the property,
and learned the rosemary had come to Arp from "somewhere up in
Oklahoma," but no one knew anything else about its origins). The Herb Society of America is slated to erect the plaque in Arp, sometime this coming summer.

That's 'Arp' on
the left, 'Hill Hardy' on the right. Some nurseries list 'Hill Hardy' as
'Hill's Hardy' rosemary, which I believe is correct. Both are
outstanding rosemaries to grow and use.

So there is the story of the origins of a this
particularly good, and hardy rosemary and it's cousin, 'Hill Hardy.' The
rosemary itself is likely more famous than the little town it came
from, but you can't miss the sign if you drive through.

This year, however, with the deep and prolonged cold (3 degrees for us in December and January) even my Arp rosemary has been killed. It's been tough, lasting for several years but this was a record-breaking cold with more snow than I can remember in my lifetime. I'll have to start over with some new rosemarys.

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